1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to processing of digital audio and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for manipulating the digital audio with various user defined effects.
2. Description of the Related Art
“Stutter Edit” encompasses a technique which is a unique way of manipulating digital audio in such a manner as to create an effect that cannot be done with contemporary software or plug-ins. There is currently no software available to create a so-called “Stutter Edit” sound using digital audio. “Stutter Edit” refers to a technique pioneered by the inventor which typically involves the rapid retriggering of a portion of the audio input and affecting the resulting sound sample with a variety of audio effects, all synchronized to a master tempo, and is conventionally performed by editing the sample by hand with the use of multiple programs. The resultant “Stutter Edit” sound may then be combined with the original and/or other sound sources. From this point there are various additional steps in molding the desired effect. After a basic “Stutter” effect is created (typically a continual retriggering of a specific, smaller slice of digitized audio from an associated buffer), it can be processed in many ways. With the manual techniques pioneered by the inventor, destructive edits, such as reversing, pitch shifting, and fading to alter the way the stutter is heard, are sometimes used. More advanced techniques, include using filters, FX processors, and other plug-ins, can increase the detail and uniqueness of a particular stutter effect.
There are programs and plug-ins that perform and produce relatively simple “Stutter” effects which some have characterized as a “Stutter Edit”, but which lack the mathematical and aesthetic qualities of the sounds previously created by the inventor's manual Stutter Edit techniques. One such known process is the “SupaTrigga” program by Smart Electronix. This program captures slices of audio and rearranges them in a random and generally unpredictable way. The “Buffer Override” program by DestroyFX has the ability to repeat small sections of audio at rates such that they sound as pitches, but offers no rhythmic repetition, slice selection, or built in effects.
Other techniques involve methods that are restricting at best. Retriggering sounds via MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is one potential solution to creating a simple “Stutter Edit” type sound. However, MIDI samplers are usually designed for studio use and do not provide the option for tempo synchronized capture of audio. MIDi has many problems and, due to bandwidth limitations, MIDI is inaccurate and unreliable. Also, the retriggering of a sound is only a beginning step in the creation of a Stutter Edit sound effect.
The use of software samplers triggering audio from hard drives has also been tried. Besides the problems inherent in retriggering sounds via MIDI and digital audio from hard drives, there is more to the process in creating a desirable Stutter Edit effect.
In summary, the known prior art software fails to provide a mechanism for conveniently replicating the structure, sound, and specific effects of the inventor's manual Stutter Edit. In particular, none of the currently available plug-ins provides for the real time processing of audio sufficient to produce a complex “stutter-edit” type sound including the ability to prepare, beforehand, a time varying combination of effects, and to then apply these effects in real time to a sound sample subsequently captured during a live performance.